A native of Woodbourne, New York, Murray Houllif holds degrees from the State University of New York at Potsdam (BS Music Education) and the State University of New York at Stony Brook (MM Percussion Performance). His teachers include Raymond Des Roches, Richard Fitz, James Petercsak, Sandy Feldstein and BeyPerry. Having subsequently served as co-coordinator of percussion at North Texas State University in Denton, Murray has recently retired from 32 years as a band director and percussion specialist in the public schools of Smithtown, New York.

As a member of the percussion section of the Long Island Symphony under Seymour Lipkin and the Nassau Symphony directed by Andrew Schenk, he has performed with Dave Brubeck, Marian McPartland, Itzak Perlman, Bryon Janis, Stanley Drucker, Julius Baker, Lynn Harrell and Phil Smith. Murray currently performs with the Atlantic Wind Symphony and as a free-lance percussionist. He endorses Pro-Mark sticks and Grover Pro-Percussion products.

With over 175 concert and pedagogic publications to his credit, he won the Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest twice and has written numerous articles for such professional journals as Percussive Notes and the Music Educator's Journal.

Murray was recipient of the New Jersey Youth Percussion Distinguished Music Leadership Award for excellence in percussion education in 2015, presented by Dr. Kenneth Piascik. He joined a small list of winners which includes Raymond Des Roches (New Jersey Percussion Ensemble Director, Professor of Percussion at William Patterson College, Stony Brook Univ.) and Gordon Stout (internationally acclaimed marimba virtuoso, Professor of Percussion at Ithaca College).

Website: www.murrayhoullif.homestead.com/